Africa

Our four Africa offices commissioned studies to evaluate the state of preparedness for climate change adaptation in seven African countries. What are the impacts of and vulnerabilities to climate change in Africa? To what extent do existing adaptation policies, strategies and plans respond to the vulnerabilities identified?

The editors of the recently published anthology of non-fiction writings by Heinrich Böll, in Hebrew, share thoughts and comments about the celebrated author and Nobel Prize laureate. Adina Stern and Hanan Elstein also reflect on the process of their work, and explain why they believe that Böll’s work is highly relevant to contemporary Israeli society.

East Africa prepares to adapt to climate change. Three studies - on Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - provide information on policies, institutions and actors addressing adaptation issues and identify governance challenges in climate change adaptation in the region.

On 18 and 19 November 2010, the annual Albrecht Thaer Kolloquium, co-hosted by the Humboldt University Berlin and Heinrich Böll Foundation, brought together a group of international environmental scientists to debate the imperative to adapt our political and economic systems to the unprecedented challenge of environmental and climate change.

How can policy coherence best be achieved in development cooperation? A case study on Kenya shows the possibilities and limitations of these efforts in a changing political environment.

15 years ago, the Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed together with 8 other activists by the Nigerian government. His son, Ken Wiwa, remembers his fathers spirit and cause.

The strategy in its current form is problematic in some key areas. For example, it says very little about the governance, rights and environmental issues associated with mineral wealth in many developing countries. 

Saliem Fakir draws balance over of South Africas economic policy of the last 15 years and derives from it recommendations for a future political agenda.

Africa is celebrating. Never in the history of the Mundial has the game of football inspire an entire continent to dream and hope for a brighter future than the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup. The soccer event, brings hope and joy to a continent long ravaged by poverty, wars and diseases.

This report focuses on the Namibian case study. Due to the fact that climate change and gender has strong links to poverty, and that the majority of rural poor are women engaged primarily in subsistence agriculture,  the research primarily examined rural communities of Namibia. Fieldwork was carried out in Epyeshona village located in northern-central Namibia and Daures Constituency in the Northwestern region.